Why Demons Return
by Mistress Nahemah
Summary: SEQUAL Its two years after Yoh left Anna, and he's stopped keeping in touch with her a long time ago. Whats happened? Is there something he didn't want her to find out? Or is there someone stopping him from making contact?
1. To Mourn

I'm back! No lemon this time around, guys, I'm not getting in trouble again. It sucks, let me tell you. I'm not about to get my license revoked because a few horny readers wanted to see some action.

I don't own Shaman King.

---

"Possibly the worst thing to ever happen to us"

"Why's he here? Doesn't he have other people to torture"  
"He's not even doing anything, he's just standing there"

"With a drink"

"Whatd'ya give him"  
"Average vampiric drink. Bit of blood mixed with booze, and a hint of spice"

"Do you think he's gonna attack"

"He looks like he's going somewhere"

"Of course he's going somewhere, have you heard what business he's in"

"Well, you never know"

"I think in this case we know. Someone's gonna die a painful death tonight"

---

Anna sighed, stirring her drink. "Horo, I'm depressed"

He laughed, cleaning a glass. "When are you not"

"Quirky. I need some action in my life again. I just feel so... I dunno, dead"

"Dead, huh?" He turned on the radio, turning to a channel that was specifically for demons. It could have been considered an underground station; it was advertised, and humans had no idea about it. The station played a variety of things, from news to music. Currently a news broadcast was on. The chatter in the bar died down a bit as Horo Horo turned up the volume.

"... and in further news, the mobs and protests have grown in number. Many human neighborhoods have been burned down, and dead and mangled bodies have been found in the most unexpected places, often with the victim with a sign with words written in their own blood, such as a recent one found that read, 'Beware humans, demons walk amongst you.' The few protesters that have been captured have been put into asylums by humans for believing so strongly in demons. We now turn to one of our leading experts"

"Is that enough action for you, Anna?" Horo asked, turning the volume down slightly. "You've been trained, why don't you stop protests yourself"

Anna sneered at Horo, ignoring gazes from others in the bar. "Why are you so edgy lately, Horo"

"No reason"

"Sure there isn't." She lay her chin on her arms, eye level with the soda in front of her. "Horo, my life sucks. I lived as an orphan for a good portion of my life, fell in love only for him to leave me, and then spent two years of my life tracking down lowlife demons that were up to some trivial mischief and killing them mercilessly. Not quite the ideal life, don't you think"

Horo put down his glass, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. "I think I may have something to cheer you up, Anna." He reached under the counter, pulling out a small box. He placed it in front of her, smiling as he said, "It came a long time ago, but you could say I was waiting"

Anna took the box unceremoniously, opening it. She gasped, sitting up. Inside was the most beautiful bracelet she had ever seen before. It was a silver link chain, with silver coins hanging from the chain like charms, twelve in all. One each coin there was a different stone; ruby, garnet, amethyst, diamond, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, sardonyx, opal, aquamarine, and topaz. "Oh, Horo, its beautiful"

"Don't thank me, thank the one that send it to you"

"Who"

"Who else would give a priestess a powerful gift like that"

She tore her eyes off the bracelet to look at Horo in confusion. "Powerful"  
Horo groaned. "Didn't Megumi train you? That's a Zodiac bracelet. You're familiar with the zodiac, right? Cancer, Capricorn, etc?" Anna nodded, fingering the bracelet lovingly. "Well, each different member of the zodiac has a different domain that it has power over. This bracelet can invoke those powers easily." He chuckled. "The power of the stars is in your hands," he said mockingly.

Anna held the bracelet up, looking at it with wide eyes. "How do you use it"

"That's the catch. Can't have unlimited power for nothing, right? The one that made it is the only one that can use it. He bestowed a charm on it that will activate everything, but without it you're up the creek without a paddle. Find the person that made it, find the way to awesome power"

She fingered one of the coins, feeling a sharp shock go through her finger. Quickly she removed it, shaking her hand out. "That hurt! How am I going to wear this and not hurt myself"  
"Ah, its just the bracelet registering you as its current user. I haven't seen one of these crafted so well in ages"

"It sounds like a demon trinket, actually"

"It is. Originally made by demons for demons, but humans got ahold of a few. Some of them are mass produced, but never with the same amount of quality. This is a real thing, right here." He took the bracelet from her, tracing the links. "Indestructible," his fingers moved to the coins, "solid," and finally to the jewels, "powerful"

"You never told me who made this," Anna wondered as she took the bracelet back from him. Laying her arm on the table, she put the bracelet on, holding her arm up so that she could admire it.

Horo laughed. "I expect someone shall be visiting soon"

Anna frowned perplexedly but didn't say anything, captivated by the sight of the bracelet. Why did it make her happy to see this bracelet? As if this was a message bringing good news. The only thing is she couldn't understand what the good news was.

---

"Bring up the report"

The lackey nodded, typing something quickly into the computer. A small bio and a picture appeared on the screen.

Age: 536 Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Race: Demon Occupation: Unknown Status: Unknown Brief: No information specified Caution Strongly Advised She frowned. "Caution strongly advised, of course. Are you sure this is the only information we have on him"  
"Positive, ma'am. Though we did find something interesting while we were gathering this information"  
"I wish to see it"  
Again, the man typed something. Another bio and picture was pulled up underneath the first one.  
Age: 18 Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Race: Human Occupation: Unemployed Brief: Lives in Tokyo apartment. Recently finished training. Moderate fighter and healer, good intuition. Recent relationship ended abruptly two years ago.

"She had a relationship with"

"Yes, ma'am. There didn't appear to be much of a reason for the break up, though. There was hardly any gossip on the streets"  
"That's not much either." She sighed. "But I guess its all we can do. Send her an invitation to our next bash"

"Yes, ma'am"

---

Anna crept inside her apartment building, hoping no one would see her. She had moved out of her old apartment because of high rates and had moved into a decent one that suited her needs for a lower price. The bad thing was her neighbors. Perverted men, young and old, lived around her. The girls there were complete scandals, and every night Anna could hear the sound of heavy drinking and partying from above and below her, and then 'other' sounds next door. There was one boy that lived down the hall who wasn't too bad, but she hardly ever saw him. He stayed locked up in his room, and only went out early in the morning when no one paid attention to him, coming back in when everyone was out.

She snuck up the stairs that would lead her closest to her room. She could already hear loud shouts coming from upstairs. On the second floor she gently pushed open the door, peeking out. No one. Everyone was in their rooms. Sighing in relief, Anna opened the door. She had taken only two steps before she heard a door open. "Hey look everyone, it's Anna"

She groaned, turning to look at the speaker. He smiled at her as others began filing out of the room. "Come on, Anna, why don't you come in and party with us for once? We don't bite"

---

"Much!" Someone added. Anna rolled her eyes, turning back around. At least they weren't drunk enough to chase after her like they had done on many previous occasions. She would have moved out, but there wasn't any other place around that had such nice places for a good deal. She walked down the hall, listening to the door close and laughing resume again. She stopped at her room, searching her pockets for her key. A door down the hall opened, closing seconds later. Anna didn't even look up as the person walked by her in a rush, accidently bumping into her. There was a quick, "Sorry!" before he was gone. Anna shrugged, opening her doorShe entered her room gratefully. Her living space consisted of one room. The larger part of it was a living space, with a bit of a kitchen next to the window. A chinese screen closed off the part that Anna considered her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes, walking on her carpet barefoot until she got to her bed. She collapsed, hugging her pillow. She looked at her night stand, admiring one of the pictures. It was a picture Horo Horo had let her have of Yoh. He had a fishing pole in one hand, a fish in the other. His expression of victory was adorable. "I miss you, Yoh," she whispered to herself. She could almost imagine him whispering comforting things to her. But it had been two years, and Yoh had stopped keeping in touch with her a long time ago. Was it possible that he had found some demon girl to share his bed with? Should she just give up her feelings for Yoh and find some other person to attach herself to?

She reached into her back pockets to find her keys, finding instead a small card. She pulled it out, looking at it in confusion. It looked like a business card. It was black, the lettering on it blood red. She read it quickly, frowning. An invitation to a bash. She hadn't been to one in a while. The question was how did it get in her pocket? Someone must have slipped it in without her noticing.

Anna sighed, putting the card and her keys on the night stand. It was late. The bash was tomorrow, and would probably last all night. If she planned to attend, then she needed her rest. Bashes weren't something to be taken lightly.

But who had nerve to invite a human to a bash?

---

And there it is. The first chapter. I must say I'm proud of myself. But anyways.  
If any of you noticed, this isn't like my first try at Why Demons Return. At all. Most of the time I just think of the story as I go along, but I have a plan this time. I also think I'll be better about updating. More time after school. Please review. 


	2. To Party

I'm really sorry for the first chapter being so messy and disorganized. I was experimenting, trying to find a way fanfiction would accept my chapters better. I used to have trouble with the spacing between the paragraphs. I tried one thing with the first chapter and another on a chapter in my other story. The other one worked better, obviously. But I seriously want to know where my puncuation went in the first chapter... I might reload that one.

Not much else to say, except that I think Yoh's going to make an appearance in this one. Not sure. Depends on whether I get to that.

I don't own Shaman King. If I did, though, Horo Horo would be a playa pimp, and Ren would be the ladies man. Yoh would be a demon (such fantasies I have of Yoh...) and Anna? Tsk. Anna would make one HOT boy.

"Wonder where he's going?"

"Probably somewhere important. You know, my cousin from Kyoto said someone died last night in a fire."

"What? And you think he did it?"

"But he's just so hot..."

"I know. You know, I don't think he has a mate."

"What would it be like to be his mate?"

"Think of the possibilities! Being pampered, living nice, it'd be like being the queen of the world."

"What do you expect? That guy's a walking powerhouse, I can tell from where I'm sitting."

"I don't think any of us could be his mate. He has the look of a man who's still in love..."

Anna stepped into the quaint looking house, flashing her card at the bouncer at the door. He blended in well, just leaning against the wall next to the door. Anna made no contact with anyone, looking at the floor ahead of her instead of at the people. She had learned early that the first floor was never a good place for social gatherings at a bash. The real part of the bash happened downstairs.

Relieved, she opened the door, going down the stairs. Whoever invited her would most likely be waiting for her on the second floor. She opened the other door, stepping into the dark room. Multiple flashers were on simultaneously, and somewhere a smoke machine was puffing out smoke on the floor and in the air. The heavy, pounding beat made Anna's ears ache at first, but she got used to it quickly. Maneuvering through the dancing bodies, she made her way to the bar. Almost every demon could probably tell just by her scent that she was a human, but she didn't need to stand out more than usual, and not drinking at a bash was the biggest hint that she was a human.

She leaned on the counter a bit, gesturing to the barkeeper. He nodded, turning to find something a human could drink. She was just starting to relax when someone placed their hand on her shoulder. She turned, slipping her prayer bead bracelet from her arm to her hand. "Chill, Anna," Horo pleaded. "Its just me."

Anna sighed, slipping her bracelet back on her arm. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a demon, I get invited to these things. But how did you get invited here? Demons don't usually take well to your kind, Anna."

"Invitation in my pocket, thought I would check it out."

Horo smirked. "Ironic you get invited to one of these parties. The host used to be a really good friend of mine. We kinda fell out after a while, though."

"Fascinating. Where's Tamao?"

He tensed, forcing a smile. "At home."

"And she let you come out to a party like this? After you've been mated for how long?"

"Demons are like humans, Anna. We don't cheat on someone we've been bound to."

Anna sighed as the barkeeper gave her her drink. She sipped it, wincing at the strong taste. "Horo, I have a question for you."

He sat beside her, the barkeeper handing him his drink that he had had ready for him. "Hm?"

"Say a demon isn't mated. Are they allowed to sleep with another demon without making them their mate?"

"Planning to have fun with a demon tonight?"

If looks could kill, Horo would have been ten feet under. He chuckled nervously. "Just joking, Anna. I guess it depends on the situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"Anna, if anything happened tonight between any of these people before, they would not be mates. True, demon romance revolves around mating, but it has to be done with mating on the mind, for lack of better words. Like marriage. You can't marry someone by accident, unless I'm out of touch with human customs."

Anna nodded, fiddling with her drink in her hands. "I see."

She blinked. He had been there for less than a second. Staring right at her. Then the light had flashed and he was gone. She blinked several times, looking around. He was gone. Horo noticed her confused expression. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw- but why would he? In my apartment. Really shy. He wouldn't- he couldn't-"

He laughed. "Take a deep breath, Anna, then try to use complete sentences."

"But- he's- he can't-"

"Miss Anna?"

She turned, surprised to see the boy right next to her. He laughed shyly, scratching his head. "Sorry if I scared you."

"But- but-"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I guess you didn't know. Sorry."

Horo smiled. "Lyserg! How long has it been?"

"Ages. I haven't been out much. Busy with work."

"Understandable."

"How's Tamao?"

Horo laughed nervously. "She's getting pretty moody. One of those times when I just had to get out of the house before she skinned me."

"I'm sorry. I hope things get better."

"You're a demon?" Anna finally managed to ask. Lyserg smiled at her.

"No, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Miss Anna."

"Then how-"

"How did I get invited? I'm a half demon. I also have friends in high places."

Anna blinked, taking in these information. The quiet, shy boy that lived down the hall had been a half demon all along, and she hadn't noticed it. She was becoming rusty. Timidly, she reached out, trying to find Lyserg's energy. But it wasn't there. Either she wasn't able to find it, or it wasn't there. But that was impossible. Even the smallest child had an energy level. Which meant that if Anna couldn't find it, then her powers were fading. 'No,' she thought desperately. 'I'm just tired. I've been trying to hard.' But what other reason was there?

Horo looked at Anna, surprised by her shocked and fearful face. "Anna, are you okay?"

She came out of her stupor suddenly, smiling at Lyserg. "Can you excuse us for just a second?"

"Of course."

She grabbed Horo, pulling him over to the side. If Horo didn't know what was wrong, then she was doomed. "I can't find his energy. Its just not there."

Horo blinked. "And that's a problem?"

"I'm a priestess! If I can't see the energy level, then I'm just a normal human!"

He laughed, waving over at Lyserg. The green haired boy came closer, a smile on his face. "Yes, Mr. Horo?"

"Tell Miss Anna here about your current state."

Lyserg nodded, turning to Anna with an adorable smile. "Miss Anna, you were searching for my energy?"

She nodded dully, wondering why the two were so laid back about it. This was her power she was talking about! Without it, any demon could just come and start munching on her and she'd be helpless! "Due to my job, I shouldn't- rather can't- be noticed that much. Energy is easy to sense from far away, so I trained myself to suppress it so that its not present. This comes with pros and cons, but it helps bring food on the table."

Anna sighed in relief. So it wasn't her. "What do you do, anyways?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing as she grew suspicious. What demon -half or full- would need to keep his energy level hidden?

"Messenger at the moment. I hope you'll forgive me for bumping into you in the hall last night-"

"That was you?"

"- but it was the only way I could slip the card into your pocket without anyone noticing. I bet you didn't realize that one of the doors was open and someone was watching you."

Anna replayed last night in her head again. She had been searching for her keys. Someone had opened a door and rushed out, and she hadn't bothered to look. He had bumped into her, but she was too caught up searching for her keys. It was a perfect moment of weakness. Any demon could have come and attacked her. There was no telling what demons might do with the revolution trying to surface from being underground. "So you invited me here."

"Yes, Miss Anna, I was told to contact you."

"For what?"

"To offer you a job. I hear you're unemployed."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "A job?"

Horo laughed, catching the eye of someone in the crowd. "I hope you two youngsters will excuse me, but I'll take my leave now. Anna, don't leave without telling me, I'm walking you home."

"Don't worry, Mr. Horo," Lyserg said cheerfully. "I'll walk her home."

"Excellent. See ya later, Anna, Lyserg."

"I'm not some doll that needs to be protected," Anna complained as Horo walked off. Lyserg smiled.

"Shall I continue? Anyways, the job I'm about to offer you is very secretive, and no one else can know about it."

"So why did you pick a place in public to tell me about it?"

"Basic training: A private place can be easily breached, but in public, there's too much noise and confusion, and you're just another person talking to someone. No one's paying attention to us."

The logic behind that was strange, but true. Anna tucked that bit of information away in her brain for future use. "What's this job?"

"A position as a S.A.Y.D.R agent."

"Say-der?"

Lyserg laughed. "Yes, thats generally what we call it. It stands for Society Active Youth Demon Repellers. Underground police that work in the demon world, you could say. And we could use a person like you."

Anna sighed, leaning on the counter. "You're offering me a job without any kind of paperwork or anything?"

"Paperwork's too messy and manipulative, we trust word of mouth."

Anna smirked, chuckling. "Thats two of your principles that I like. Give me a third and I might start to consider."

"You get paid. Depending on your task, 20,000 to 50,000 yen."

"Well, Lyserg, that's a very persuasive third principle. Tell me what I need to know."

Lyserg smiled and commenced telling her what her jobs would be and what the rules where. If she accepted, she was to be taken to headquarters to officially be hired. If she refused, Lyserg would be forced to use one of the many capsules he carries around and erase her memories. Simple, classic, but very effective. But with the pay on her mind, who could resist?

"Come on, Yoh. Have fun with it."

Yoh sneered, rolling his eyes. "Have fun. Highly impossible."

"You mean improbable."

"I mean impossible." Nonetheless, Yoh dipped his fingers into the bloody carcass. Using two clawed fingers, he wrote the message on the brick wall. He sucked his teeth as he wrote. "This is so childish."

"We have to tone things down so that the primates can understand. Aren't you happy you left that whore of a human a long time ago?"

Yoh growled warningly. Finished, he licked off his fingers, and was almost ashamed to find that he still liked it after years of not feasting on the flesh of humans for ages. Soon his hand was clean, and he was craving for more.

"I can see your hunger, Yoh. Come on, lets go hunting together, just like old times."

"Old times," Yoh muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He was dressing differently these days, choosing a more punk, gothic look than the lazy, care free one who used to have all the time. His whole wardrobe was made of black these days. The others said it was the color of mischief and malice, but Yoh thought of it as mourning. For what he was mourning for, he could not decide. he shrugged. "Fine. What have I got to loose?"

"Excellent! Then we can go drinking, then resume our journey."

"Our journey to Tokyo," Yoh said sadly.

"Don't even think about going to see your little human lover, Yoh."

Yoh rolled his eyes as he sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of a lone human nearby. Catching the scent, he smirked, his hunter instincts kicking in. "We'll share the catch?"

"Of course."

"Then lets go."

And there's the second chapter. Its so funny. I look at this and look at Demon Traits, and I can literally (ha) see how I've matured as a fanfiction writer. Whereas in my first story I was goofing off and causing it to be more lighthearted, I think this one is more descriptive, and I can add to the mood better.

Please review. 


	3. To Remember

I about to see one of my good friends for the first time in about three years! . Yah! So, I'm here in the car, and well, I have nothing better to do than write. And now we've experienced a minor traffic jam, so suddenly it scared me. Where are all these cars going? Its a weekend, for crying out loud!

But anywho...

Review Corner!  
Kyoyama kita- Uh, didn't I use that? I know for certain its in my original, and when I uploaded it, it must have messed up. Well, now that I've edited this piece and its still not working, I realize that it just doesn't accept my seperations. Not me fault! XP I'll try to find some way to counter this, just bare with me for a while. Sorry!

Bow-down-to-Keiko- How could I forget? NUMERO UNO FAN, MAN!

Merissala- Well, you don't expect me to tell you everything, do you?

I don't own Shaman King. Trust me, its better that way.

Several curses flew out of his mouth. He knew it was a bad idea, just knew it! Letting that human lover out of sight for even just one minute would prove disastrous while they were in such close proximity to Tokyo. They shouldn't have come to Tokyo, it was a bad idea from the start, but his stupid sister just had to "suggest" the trip.

He grumbled, standing on the rooftop of an office building. He could see every person on the ground clearly, could sense the energy patterns of all. None of them were important however. The demon had escaped his grasp once again, and now that he was off on his own, who knew how hard it would be for him to come back?

"I'll have to take you to base later, I've got some more work to do..."

Anna nodded, leaning against her door. She and Lyserg had had an interesting chat. It seemed that Saydr had some interesting tactics and goals. Since all she knew was being a priestess, it was the perfect job opportunity. What else could she do? Besides, judging how Lyserg had been so eager to talk to her, it seemed that Saydr had desperate need for her.

"Its alright," she said. "You know where to find me."

Lyserg smiled brightly, tipping an imaginary hat. "It was nice talking to you, Miss Anna. I'll contact you tomorrow."

Anna nodded briefly as Lyserg went down the hall into his own apartment. 'He's back to being the shy boy that never comes out of his room,' she thought. What did he do in there, anyways? She had never gotten around to asking him. She went into her room, turning on the light automatically. Everything was in order, in undisturbed bliss. As usual. She sighed. This peaceful life was getting to be too much for her. She missed the times when her life was hectic. That was one of the reasons she wanted to join Sayder. If there was as much demonic commotion as Lyserg said, then Anna's life would no longer be so dry and boring and once again take on that activeness that it had when Yoh was still around.

Yoh... she sat on her bed, looking out the window. When would he be back? He had said he was going to come back once two years was over. It had been almost three years! She was struck by those old thought demons that used to haunt her. What if he had found a more suitable girl, a fire demon to share his time with? What if his old enemies had tracked him down and seriously hurt him- possibly killed him? It wasn't unlikely that something could have happened to him. All she had to go by was her faith in Yoh.

Frustrated with her thoughts, Anna got up and started to busy herself with the task of cleaning her apartment. If she had stayed in front of the window for a bit longer, she would have noticed the piercing eyes gazing at her from the streets.

'She's in there,' he thought as he looked at the building. There was a faint light behind the window curtain, and he could see the silhouette of her slender form. Almost immediately he could feel those old instincts cease him. He wanted to see her again, he wanted to finally do all the things he had dreamed about...

He tore his eyes from the window, shaking his head. 'I need a drink,' he thought to himself. Maybe Horo's place was still open? He sighed as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He would have to take the long way, Ren would surely be looking for him along the more common routes. And he didn't want to go back now, no, he deserved a break. He started to walk slowly in the direction of Horo's restaurant. He was in no hurry.

Horo ducked, cringing as the blender crashed into the wall. "Tamao..." he whined as his mate grabbed the closet thing to hand- a lamp.

She growled at him. "You! Spending the night at a stupid bash, probably with a young demon at your side! Why'd you even come back here, hmm? Go back to that young girl's arms, seems you enjoy her company more than you do mine!"

"Tamao, I would never do that!" Before she could throw the lamp in her hand, Horo was out the door. He sighed pitifully as he listened to Tamao sobbing angrily inside. He sunk to his knees, pounding his head with the heel of his hand. Tamao thought he was having an affair... it was something different every night. She had been rather touchy lately, but she had never gone as far as to proclaim things like that about him and try to bodily harm him. "What happened?" he asked, standing up. If only Yoh was still in town. In cases like this, he would have gone to Yoh's place and spent the night. But he wasn't here, and well, he was on his own.

It looked like another cold night at in the back room of his restaurant.

By the time he arrived to the restaurant, the temperature had seemingly dropped twenty degrees. What he would give to be back in his warm bed with his loving wife by his side. He unlocked the back door and staggered in tiredly. There was already a small cot set up in the back room. It wasn't his first time having to spend the night at the restaurant. But there was no blanket. Where had he left it... under the counter so that it could get washed later on. It had never made the trip to a washing machine. Oh well, it was still usable. He made his way out to the main part of the restaurant, still in a pitiful mood. He was surprised to see a figure sitting at one of the tables, looking at something in front of him. "We're closed, buddy," Horo mentioned before bending down to get the blanket. 'Stupid customers coming at night,' he thought bitterly. 'The closed sign and the locked door should have been a hint...'

Wait. He stood up, staring at the figure. He couldn't see him well in the shadows, but there was something familiar about him. "Who are you? And how'd you get in here?"

"You gave me a key a long time ago incase I needed to get in here," was the reply. Horo blinked before laughing to himself.

"Can't stay away, can you?"

"'fraid not," Yoh said as he stood from the table. In his hands was a piece of paper. "I just came from Anna's place."

Horo turned on a few lights and got out two glasses. "What did she say?"

"I didn't go in."

"Ah." He got out a bottle of wine, pouring some for Yoh and himself. "So what have you been up to for all this time?"

Yoh paused before handing Horo the piece of paper he'd been holding. Horo took it with a confused look on his face. "I passed by the police station on the way here," he explained as Horo looked the paper over. On it was a picture of three individuals. Horo recognized every single one of them. There was Ren and his sister, looking as if they were oblivious to the camera that was taking their picture. However, Yoh was staring right at it, a dead expression on his face. "WANTED!" it read across the top with big, bold, red letters. "Homicide Suspects."

Horo groaned, running his fingers through his spiked hair. "Not again," he muttered. Could this night get any worse? "When will you learn to stop hanging with the wrong crowd?"

"What could I do, Horo? Ren knew who Anna was, were she lived. He blackmailed me into it, and now, he's blackmailing me so I can't get out of it."

Horo handed Yoh the glass of wine, his eyes still on the paper. "I've never even seen this on the news... has it reached the human news system?"

"I think so... do you think Anna will find out?"

Horo laughed dryly. "If she watches the news, then it would be impossible for her not to."

Yoh groaned, taking a huge gulp from his drink. As always, it was some of the best booze he had ever tasted. It was too strong for a human, but it was perfect for him. However, the strength of the liquid didn't seem to have its usual effect on him tonight. He was just so worried. Even Horo seemed anxious.

"Why are you out here anyways?" he asked, distracting himself from his troubles for a moment.

Horo visibly deflated. "Tamao's been... moody lately," he admitted.

"She kick you out?"

He shook his head. "I kinda left on my own before she could. This isn't the first time this has happened. This week."

Yoh frowned. Last he checked, it had only been Tuesday. "Wow. That bad?"

"Unfortunately. I've been coming here to sleep when she gets like this. We hardly ever spend time together anymore. Every time I come in contact with her, she has something else she's mad about." He sighed. "Tonight, she accused me of having an affair."

"Is there any evidence behind that?"

"None that I know of. Well, I did go to a bash recently, but I thought she knew I would never do something like that."

Yoh smiled a bit, leaning on his elbow. "Females."

"Not just any female. My Tamao."

Yoh laughed loudly, finishing his drink. "Well, you don't have to spend the night here, its too cold, even for someone like yourself. You can stay at my place tonight, in a proper bed. Heck, I'll even treat you to breakfast."

Horo smiled. Just like old days when the two used to hang out all the time. Without the worries of females or world domination. For a few hours they could drink and laugh and share stories, forgetting all about their troubles. Horo put away his empty glass. "What are we waiting for?"

"Oh my goodness!"

"I recognize him! He's all over the posters on the human buildings."

"Who's that with him?"

"Probably some comrade in evil."

"I don't necessarily think its evil, what he and his crew do."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, they could go about it in a different way, but what they're doing would benefit our kind everywhere."

"By killing off humans? What good is that going to do?"

"I told you, they could do it differently..."

"Well, as soon as the fools get off the streets, the better. We don't need them dirtying our name and race."

"Who knows? Maybe this will help us in the long run."

Ren licked the blood off his fingers as he walked away from what was left of the unfortunate body that happened to get in his way. The night had been wasted in his futile search for the idiot human lover that actually called himself a demon. He had his suspicions that he had gone to the little human girl's place, but she wasn't at her old place, he had checked. What if he had found a way to contact her, however? That would spell disaster for sure. He couldn't have Yoh falling back in love with that girl, it would ruin everything.

He had only one more place to check- Yoh's old home. Right now he was only a block away, and his anger was growing with every step. He turned the corner and nearly fell as he ran into the very demon he was looking for. Growling, he grabbed Yoh's shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Where were you?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Get you hands off of me, Ren."

Ren growled again but complied. Yoh brushed himself off. "I was at my place with my friend. I was just going to find you."

"What friend?"

"Horo Horo. You remember him, right? Ice demon, blue hair, married to Tamao..."

Ren sighed. "Yes, yes, I remember," he said distractedly. "Now come on, we've got work to do."

"What work? Killing off more humans?" Yoh laughed, sniffing the air idly. He paused, sniffing again. "Why do I smell blood?"

"There's a dead body not to far back." He chuckled. He was already relaxing a bit. As long as Yoh didn't go to that human's place, everything was alright. "Its still fresh."

Yoh smiled. "What about work?"

"Jun made me search all around the city for you, I'm sure she can afford to wait a bit longer."

Anna made her way down the familiar road, humming to herself. Lyserg was going to meet up with her later, but for now, she had some time to kill. She had decided to visit an old friend that she hadn't seen in ages. Just for the demon, she had bought a small pink stuffed raccoon. It seemed like something Tamao would like.

She knocked on the door to Horo and Tamao's home, waiting with the gift behind her back. She didn't bother to touch the doorbell; Tamao had demon senses, she would be able to hear the knock from any portion of the house. A few minutes passed with no sign of the demon. Anna knocked again, growing a bit concerned. 'Calm down, Anna,' she thought. 'Maybe she's just out.' Somehow, though, she had a feeling that wasn't the case. After a few more minutes, she pressed the doorbell. This time there was a reaction from inside. The curtains of the window moved aside a bit, and then the door opened.

Anna gasped. Tamao certainly looked worse for the wear. Her clothes were sloppily put together without care, and her hair was untamed. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there were red streaks down her cheeks that obviously came from tears. She tried to smile, but only succeeded in making her lips twitch a bit into a type of grimace. "Anna, what a pleasant surprise. Please come in." She moved out of the way for Anna to come in.

"Tamao, what's wrong?" Anna stepped inside, slipping off her shoes. This caused what little strength Tamao had to break. She started to cry.

"Oh, Anna, everything is just so confusing. Horo Horo and I have been getting into these fights, and I've become so irrational. I accused him of having an affair, Anna. I know my Horo would never do that! I don't know what came over me, I was just so angry that he went to that bash instead of spending time with me, but why would he want to spend time with me? I'm so violent, I wouldn't want to spend time with myself! And I still haven't told him yet!"

Anna guided Tamao to the living room, sitting her down on the sofa. She placed the stuffed animal on the coffee table, holding Tamao's hand comfortingly. "Told him what?"

She placed a hand over her stomach, sniffing. "Anna, I'm going to be a mother soon!"

Anna gasped. "Congratulations! Thats good news!"

"But Horo's all but deserted me..."

"No he hasn't," Anna reassured her. "Every woman... female goes through it. Its just mood swings. I'm sure if you or I tell Horo, he would understand. He wouldn't forsake you. He loves you."

Tamao sniffed again, wiping her eyes. "You think so?"

Anna smiled. "I know so. But this is great! You're going to have a baby! Do you know if its a boy or girl?"

Tamao placed her hand over her stomach again. "I have a feeling... its a girl."

"Then lets go shopping! We can get things for your baby! Some cute clothes, some toys..." she paused. "What kind of toys do demons give their children?"

Tamao smiled. "I remember going through several chew toes while I was teething. And I also had a scratch post to amuse myself with. And a few toy soldiers that would always be eaten by the favorite stuffed animal of the week."

"Well, that sounds... appropriate for a demon," Anna said with a laugh. "We can go and get that stuff at the mall. Oh," she picked up the raccoon, handing it to Tamao. "Consider this a present for the little girl."

Tamao took it with another smile. "Thank you, Anna. Let me get myself cleaned up, and then we can go shopping."

Well, thats overly long. Longer than my average chapter. Oh well. It should last for a bit. 


End file.
